Blog Tour | Well, That Was Unexpected by Jesse Q. Sutanto

WELL, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED

Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Publishing date: September 27th, 2022

Pages: 352

Rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis:

An outrageous, laugh-out-loud YA rom-com about a girl who’s whisked from LA to her mother’s native Indonesia to get back to her roots and finds herself fake-dating the son of one of the wealthiest families there, from the author of Dial A for Aunties.

After Sharlot Citra’s mother catches her in a compromising position, she finds herself whisked away from LA to her mother’s native Indonesia. It’ll be exactly what they both need. Or so her mother thinks.

When George Clooney Tanuwijaya’s father (who is obsessed with American celebrities) fears he no longer understands how to get through to his son, he decides to take matters into his own hands.

To ensure that their children find the right kind of romantic partner, Sharlot’s mother and George’s father do what any good parent would do: they strike up a conversation online, pretending to be their children.

When the kids find out about their parents’ actions, they’re horrified. Not even a trip to one of the most romantic places on earth could possibly make Sharlot and George fall for each other. But as the layers peel back and the person they thought they knew from online is revealed, the truth becomes more complicated. As unlikely as it may seem, did their parents manage to find their true match after all?

Author Info:

I grew up going back and forth between Jakarta and Singapore and consider both places my homes. I was fortunate enough to do my Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Oxford, which is surely one of the most gorgeous places in the world.

I am passionate about women’s rights and diversity in publishing. I regularly do giveaways where I critique queries or the first few pages, and I am especially interested in helping writers from marginalized communities. If you are a writer from a marginalized community, do hit me up! I love hearing from other writers, even if it’s just to say a quick hello.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Facebook

Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours, Netgalley and the author for giving me a copy of the book. Check out the other posts on the tour here.

Review:

This was a fun, cute novel which really gave me butterflies. I loved the peek into Indonesian culture, and while I found the novel slow for the first three quarters, overall it’s a pretty sweet book.

Plot:

The plot, as you can probably tell from the synopsis, is so unique and fun to read! The inculcation of Indonesian culture enriched it deeply, and I just enjoyed reading it very much! I do feel like there were some inconsistencies and a lack in the plot development to the extent that it became slow at points.

Characters:

I enjoyed reading all the characters, but I feel like while George’s character was well-developed, Sharlot’s wasn’t? Like I don’t know it felt like early on her life revolved around Brendon and then George. Just a personal point of view. The other characters were enjoyable as well.

Writing Style:

It wasn’t the best I’ve read, but it was honestly, decent enough.

And that’s all for today! Let me know if you’ve read this book or Jesse Q. Sutanto’s other books!